Purchases of toddler formula in the USA: 17 years of household demographics and spending

Abstract Objective: Toddler drinks, sometimes referred to as toddler milks or formulas, are not recommended by health authorities because they have a higher sugar and lower protein content than cows’ milk. However, advertisement spending and retail sales of these products have grown in the USA, and there is a nutrition surveillance gap in purchaser characteristics. Design: Household purchases of toddler drinks between 2004 and 2020. Setting: NielsenIQ consumer panel. Participants: Panellists across the USA. Results: Panellists purchased sixty-six unique toddler drinks between 2004 and 2020. Out of 202 207 households in the panel, 2644 panellists purchased toddler drinks at least once during the study period. Most panellists who purchased toddler drinks had a household income above $60 000 and had graduated from college. Households purchasing toddler drinks spent an average of $102 dollars, 1·5 % of their total food spending, on toddler drinks annually. The share of spending on toddler drinks increased by approximately 0·02 percentage points each year during the study period, which was equivalent to a 54 % increase between 2004 and 2020 (95 % CI: 0·04, 4 × 10 –3 ). The highest average household spending on toddler drinks was among Asian households, households with a single male head of household and households with children 2–6 years old. Conclusions: Findings indicate that toddler drink purchasing patterns vary by household demographics and purchases have increased over time. Proactive efforts, including continued surveillance of toddler drink purchases and regulation of toddler drink marketing, are critical to promote consumption of age-appropriate beverages for young children.